1.31.2013

Have you heard of Cibu? They make beauty products. Unfortunately, their whole brand identity revolves around ridiculous Orientalist schtick, invoking tired old Asian imagery hacky stereotypical wordplay. This isn't anything new -- brands have been doing this for years. But in Cibu's case, they've gone way off the deep end.

Are you still wondering you can do in the fight for justice for Private Danny Chen? After the courts-martial of all eight soldiers connected to his hazing and tragic death, four were ultimately discharged from the Army. And earlier this month, President Obama signed several anti-hazing provisions into law.

But this is not over. There's still unfinished business. If you're in New York, OCA-NY, which has been spearheading this campaign from the very beginning, is holding a planning meeting next week to discuss where the community goes from here in seeking justice for Danny Chen. The fight does not stop.

Next steps include an organizing campaign to co-name Elizabeth Street where Danny grew up in Manhattan's Chinatown, "Danny Chen's Way," and a petition to the Commander in Fort Wainwright, Alaska to request that the four remaining soldiers be administratively discharged from the Army.

1.30.2013

If you're in the Bay Area, here's something fun going down in the city this Saturday night... Celebrate the Year of the Snake at the 2013 Lunar New Year Celebration Presented by Verizon, featuring performances from folks like Jason Chen, Kina Grannis, New Heights and David So. It's happening Saturday, February 2 at Union Square. Here are some more details:

Hey, Asian American women! Here's a graduate student who could use your help...

I recently heard from Suah Kim, a doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University. She's conducting a study examining Asian American women's cultural values, race- and gender-related experiences, body image, and mental health, and is looking for Asian American women to participate in an online research survey.

Randall Park is my hero. The comic actor you know and love as Asian Jim on The Office presents his latest comedy short Baby Mentalist. It co-stars Randall's wife Jae and their eight-month-old daughter Ruby in the title role, a detective with very special abilities. It's a family affair. And it's friggin' genius. Take a look:

1.29.2013

Do you want to know how many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders live in California? The demographers at the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice know, and they want you to know. They will be presenting data from a new report, A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in California, next week. The events will be held on Monday, February 4 in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Tuesday, February 5 in San Jose. Here are the details:

The Asian American Writers' Workshop is currently looking for a new Open City Editor. Specifically, "a self-motivated and resourceful individual with a vibrant vision of how the stories of immigrant New York City should be told." Maybe that's you. This is your opportunity to lead a smart publication about issues you actually care about and that you actually want to read.

Something new from one of my favorite emcee/producers, Kero One, who recently dropped this cool new official music video for "R.I.P.," from his latest album Color Theory. It's really nicely produced, with some interesting visuals to go along with a great song. Check it out:

I don't have much information about this, but this video, uploaded to YouTube almost two months ago, has recently been making the rounds on social networks. If what it's alleging is true, it's pretty damn disturbing...

Folks who frequent the UCI Town Center in Irvine, California might be familiar with an elderly Asian woman in a wheelchair named "Cathy" who regularly panhandles at the shopping center well into the late hours of the evening. Who is she? What's her story? She claims she's homeless, and most people have left it at that.

However, according to the person who shot this video, Cathy's situation is apparently part of some kind of scam, perhaps even involving elder abuse, because she is dropped off and picked up at the UCI Town Center every day by her adult son, who drives a Toyota Prius. This video allegedly catches him in the act:

This. Is. Awesome. Wired.com has posted a exclusive 10-page preview and interview with award-winning graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang on his latest project Boxers & Saints. It's a two-volume historical fiction piece about the Boxer Rebellion. The first volume takes the Boxers' perspective, while the second takes the perspective of their Chinese Christian victms. Just judging from these pages, it looks fantastic.

Gene, who grew up in a Chinese Catholic community, says he first became interested in the Boxer Rebellion in 2000, when the Roman Catholic Church first canonized 87 Chinese Catholics:

Before Monday night's game against the Utah Jazz, Jeremy met with basketball pioneer Wat Misaka, the first Asian American player in the NBA. The former Ute broke professional basketball's color line when he was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1947. Turns out that Misaka, now 89, has been following Jeremy's career since he was playing at Harvard:

Part of the brawl was caught on video and, of course, uploaded to WorldStarHipHip.com. Not sure how it all started, but the video shows a big group of Asians guys (and girls? -- it's hard to tell) beating up on a couple of bleeding white dudes. Two victims were taken to the hospital with minor injuries:

According to authorities, 34-year-old Jason Commisso was apprehended by New Jersey state troopers and New York police officers on the New Jersey Turnpike, while on a southbound interstate bus headed for Richmond, Virginia.

He was wanted in connection with eight different robberies -- all targeting men and women of Asian descent -- since January 17:

1.28.2013

Hey, New York. Every year, thousands of undocumented students in New York are denied a higher education because they don't qualify for financial aid or government loans. On Wednesday, January 30, join KORE at the Flatiron Hotel for their DREAM Benefit Concert, which will help raise college scholarship funds for DREAMers. Here's more info:

Attention Asian American media producers and directors! The Center for Asian American Media invites you to submit applications for projects of all genres to participate in READY, SET, PITCH!, a live fundraising event at this year's CAAMFest (running May 14-24).

CAAM is seeking projects that are timely and compelling, incorporate a well thought-out audience engagement strategy, and explore topics that are of interest to a wide audience including the Asian American community. Each fundraising campaign should incorporate as central themes innovation, engagement and community.

I had the privilege of serving as a jury member at last year's Ready, Set Pitch!, and heard from four out of five media producers who were ultimately able to raise their full crowdfunding campaign amounts. This year, CAAM is adding an audience engagement element. Here's some more information:

To promote the album, Thao is posting a series of funny behind-the-scenes shorts ("almost biopic") on the making of We the Common. Here are the first two, for anyone who's ever wondered where Thao draws her creative inspiration:

NYPD released a photo of Jason Commisso, a career criminal wanted in connection with eight attacks between January 17 and 26. In each of the incidents, the suspect followed victims into elevators then assaulted them repeatedly before robbing All of the victims -- four men and four women of varying ages -- are of Asian descent.

The most recent attack happened on Friday, when Commisso allegedly beat a 27-year-old woman for her iPhone. That's when the NYPD officially declared the case a pattern. Ya think?

It's official. In a move that's surprised many Hollywood insiders, Kevin Tsujihara has been named the new CEO of Warner Brothers. After a fiercely fought battle for the job, Tsujihara will succeed Barry Meyer as head of Warner Bros Entertainment starting March 1: Kevin Tsujihara Named CEO of Warner Bros.

Tsujihara edged out rival execs Bruce Rosenblum, president of Warner Bros. Television, and Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros. Pictures, after a tense two-year corporate runoff for the studio's top post. And if what people are saying is correct, he will become the first Asian American to run a major Hollywood studio.

He made it. Jeremy Lin, the superstar subject of the feature documentary Linsanity, was scheduled to appear at the film's final screening last night at the Sundance Film Festival. But with a snowstorm coming down outside, grounding planes, it seemed like the weather might foil those plans.

How can I not support this? Star Trek fans, your attention please. This online petition is asking the White House to grant Kennedy Center Honors to William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols -- the surviving cast members of the original Star Trek series -- for their lifetime contribution to American culture. Read on for more information:

In Texas, family and friends are asking for the public's help in locating 23-year-old Trung Quang Ngo, who has been missing since January 15. Their only lead has come from a stranger who found Trung's cell phone on the side of Fry Road in Katy, Texas. Just passing along this information in case anyone out there might know something and is able to help:

1.27.2013

T&C's Top 40 Bachelors: Jeremy Lin: Guess which Asian American professional basketball star made Town & Country's highly subjective, thoroughly opinionated survey of "the most eligible men in the universe."

A storybook ending: Director Evan Jackson Leong was looking for the perfect ending for his documentary on Jeremy Lin, a project he started back when Lin was at Harvard. Then Linsanity happened.

1.25.2013

Hey, Chicago. Catch Disconnect, a play about a fortysomething Illinois employee who is transferred to the fourth floor of his building to work with bright young graduates, and about call center employees in Chennai India. The play opens on January 25 and runs until February 24 at the Zacek McVay Theater at Victory Gardens.

If you see the performance on Thursday, January 31, there will be a discussion afterwards about the La Jolla Playhouse production of Nightingale, nontraditional casting, and cultural appropriation. Here's more information:

36-year-old Jason Smith, an exterminator, is accused of strangling and burning the body of Melissa Ketunuti, a doctor and researcher at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, after the two got into an argument during an appointment at her home. That is one serious pest control call gone wrong. What the hell happened?

According to police, Smith hit Ketunuti, strangled her with a rope until she passed out, then bound her body and set fire to it in order to destroy evidence. Police were eventually able to identify the suspect by reviewing neighborhood surveillance videos:

Hello, angry podcast listeners! It's a new year and a new season of Sound and Fury: The Angry Asian Podcast. Thanks to everyone who's downloaded and listened to the first six episodes, available here. To get them all delivered to your device as soon as they're released, be sure to subscribe.

Oh myyyy. In case you missed it, the one and only George Takei appeared as a guest on this week's edition of FX's Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, aka the realest show on television. Kamau geeked out, and the actor/activist/sci-fi icon talked about becoming a social media juggernaut at age 75. Here's the segment:

Time to get your balloon party on. I have no idea what is going in this video, but it's weird and funny and I love it. In this short film Bring Your Own Balloon, writer, director and star Lawrence Kao gives you some compelling reasons -- namely, some hot-ass dance moves -- to subscribe to his YouTube channel. Check it out:

1.24.2013

This is for film fans in the Seattle area... The Seattle Asian American Film Festival is back! Previously known as the Northwest Asian American Film Festival, the film festival has been resurrected and rebranded as SAAFF, running January 25-27 with a great schedule of award-winning films and panel discussions at the Wing Luke Museum. Here's the pretty promo video for the festival:

You had us at ninjas. Actions fans, if you're heading to movie theaters for Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, you'll be treated to a four-minute 3D preview of G.I. Joe: Retaliation. And it's pretty damn ninjatastic.

The new film is adapted from Silver Vase, Iron Knight, the fifth book in Wang Du Lu's Crane-Iron Pentalogy, the same multi-volume source material that inspired Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The story will reportedly pick up with Yu Shu Lien, the character played in the original by Michelle Yeoh:

Ha. Saw this making the rounds from Reddit... So an Asian guy named Jacob goes to eat at a restaurant, and overhears his waitress repeatedly referring to him as "Jackie Chan" with her co-workers. Rude as hell. I'm generally not crazy about stiffing wait staff with a crap tip, but sometimes a lesson must be learned.

According to police, in all seven cases, the suspect follows his victims -- both men and women -- from and around the 110 Street Station into an elevator and starts punching as soon as the door closes, viciously targeting the victim's head. The suspect then leaves with the victim's cell phone, wallet or purse, keys and ID.

All of the victims are Asian, all within one week. The attacks are being investigated by the NYPD's Hate Crimes Unit, though authorities have yet to determine whether the victims were indeed targeted because of their race. What, this guy has to actually say something to make it a hate crime? I don't think it's coincidence.

The latest attack occurred on Thursday morning. The suspect is described as a Latino male, 25-35 years old, 6'0"-6'2" tall, and 200-240 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Stay safe, my friends.

1.23.2013

The excellent documentary I Am Bruce Lee, about the incredible life, career and global impact of the martial arts icon, was recently released on Blu-ray and DVD from Shout! Factory. It's a really insightful and entertaining feature, piecing together film clips, rare archival footage and interviews with those who knew Bruce best, as well as the many whose respective work he's influenced. It's a must-see for any Bruce fan.

I happen to have an extra copy of I Am Bruce Lee on Blu-ray, and I feel like giving it away. Want it? Scroll down to the bottom for details. But first, here's the trailer and a bunch of clips from I Am Bruce Lee:

The film, which chronicles Jeremy's rise unexpected rise from NBA benchwarmer to international basketball superstar, premiered last Sunday in Park City, Utah. Jeremy, who will happen to be in town with the Rockets to play the Utah Jazz, will reportedly attend the January 27 screening with some of his teammates.

This will be happening at the tail-end of Sundance, when the hype has usually died down a bit, but a guest appearance by Jeremy Lin on the festival's final day will definitely be... well, Linsane. Good times. Oh, and here's The Hollywood Reporter's review of the film: Linsanity: Sundance Review.

Meanwhile, a reminder that the folks behind Linsanity are currently in the throes of a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds towards finishing the film. Licenses and all that ain't cheap, yo. Why not kick in a few bucks and support this extraordinary project?

Oh hell no. So you couldn't get enough of those villainous North Korean invaders in Red Dawn? Well, I have just the movie for you. In the newly released trailer for Olympus Has Fallen, evil North Korean terrorists infiltrate the White House and capture the President. Think Die Hard in the White House, but not to be confused with that the other upcoming Die-Hard-in-the-White-House movie White House Down.

In Olympus Has Fallen, Gerard Butler stars as a disgraced former Presidential guard who must step into action when a terrorist mastermind orchestrates a nefarious plot to take control of the White House. Good ol' Rick Yune plays Kang, the North Korean terrorist who disguises himself as a South Korean ministerial aide. Those sneaky Korean bastards! Sigh. Here's the trailer:

This week, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund filed an amici curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, challenging the legality of Proposition 200, Arizona's new restrictive voter registration law. According to AALDEF, Proposition 200 will unfairly burden naturalized citizens, who make up almost 40% of the state's Asian American population.

The brief was filed with twelve other Asian American organizations that conduct voter registration drives in states with laws similar to Arizona's, or whose state legislatures are considering such laws -- laws that will make voter registration more burdensome for Asian American voters and will impair the ability of grassroots groups to register Asian American voters.

1.22.2013

I'm excited to relay this news about the A3 Foundation, a new venture to promote Asian Americans in entertainment. Founded by a group of early Facebook employee, their goal is to diversity and support Asian American voices and faces in American media through television, film and online media.

This week at special reception at the Sundance Film Festival, they announced a collaboration with the Sundance Institute to establish the A3 Sundance Institute Director/Screenwriting Fellowship, which will support a talented artist with an Asian American-themed project from among the Fellows selected by the prestigious Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Directing or Screenwriting Lab.

The A3 Foundation has already launched its first Fellows Program, collaborating with established online mediamakers Wong Fu Productions and YOMYOMF to pair fellows with funding and mentorship.

To learn more about the Asian American Artists Foundation, go to the A3 website.

1.21.2013

I am back from the wintry wilds of Park City, Utah, where I partook in the annual celebration of independent cinema known as the Sundance Film Festival. I saw films, friends and much colder weather than my west coast constitution is used to, but it was a fun whirlwind weekend. Here are a few cool things I experienced...

Things To Say; Letter to a Friend: "Your mother is your first love, the person who you loved before you even existed. So tell her you love her. But know that it will never be enough. It was never enough."

1.18.2013

Big news from our friends at the Center for Asian American Media. They've announced that the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival -- one of my favorite events of the year -- has renamed and re-branded CAAMFest, a celebration of film, music, food and digital media from the world's most innovative Asian and Asian American artists. It's happening March 14-24, 2013. Here's the official announcement:

What's up, everybody? Are you ready to do this? Time to meet the Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is Van Anh Tran.

The personal documentary When I Walk makes it world premiere next week at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2006, at age 25, filmmaker Jason DaSilva turned the camera on himself when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Six years in the making, the film chronicles the slow, difficult decline of his body and the miracles he encountered along the way. I watched this trailer and I almost cried:

1.17.2013

See you soon, Utah. I'm Sundance-bound. Yes, this weekend I am headed to cold of Park City in the name of independent cinema. If you're going and happen to be around next Tuesday, you're invited to the celebrate The 10th Annual Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience in Park City, a reception recognizing all the Asian Pacific filmmakers with works screening at this year's Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals. It's happening January 22 at the Outdoor Retailer Innovation Gallery. The details:

Here's a brief interview with Jeremy Lin, who talks about the Sundance feature documentary Linsanity and the origins of the project. The filmmakers approached him to start following him long before the birth of "Linsanity" as we know it, and followed the ups and downs of his trajectory leading up to that fateful night in Madison Square Garden: Sundance to feature 'Linsanity' documentary.

Jeremy admits there were tough moments when he did not want a camera in his face:

Success? As of this morning, that godawful Make Me Asian Android app seems to have unceremoniously disappeared from Google play. It was ridiculous that this crappy, racist app was even there in the first place, and was available for as long as it was. Props to all who signed petitions, spread the word and got angry. More here: 'Make Me Asian' App Removed From Google Play Store.

This week, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund released detailed findings from its nonpartisan multilingual exit poll of 9,096 Asian American voters in the November 2012 Presidential Elections, the largest survey of its kind in the nation. The results indicated that Asian Americans vary in political beliefs and on policies across ethnic lines and by geographic location.

While three-quarters (77%) of Asian Americans polled voted for Barack Obama for President, as many as 96% of Bangladeshi Americans voted for Obama, compared to 44% of Vietnamese Americans. In addition, while Asian Americans in the Northeast voted for Obama at high levels (89% in PA and 86% in NY), as few as 16% of Asian Americans polled in Louisiana voted for Obama.

1.16.2013

This is outrageous out of Arkansas... In Little Rock, a woman trapped inside a sinking vehicle died after a 911 operator did not properly enter her emergency call into a computer system to notify rescue dispatchers, causing a 43-minute delay in response: Ark. woman dies after 911 call not put in system.

39-year-old Jinglei Yi called 911 when her car hit a patch of ice, went over a curb and ended up in a pond. The 911 operator contacted an ambulance service, but failed to contact police officers and firefighters, who weren't dispatched until a half-hour later -- after the ambulance service called to verify that they were en route.

Yi died hours later at a local hospital, while her 5-year-old son is in critical condition. Meanwhile, the operator has been placed on paid administrative leave. What the hell happened?

Saw this on io9, had to share... Artist Quibe creates amazing one-line sci-fi/fantasy/pop culture portraits. One line! This stunning Princess Mononoke piece is my excuse to post about his work. (There's also a cool Porco Rosso one.) I'd love to see his take on Bruce Lee or Sulu. See more of his work here.

Do you know about Fred Korematsu? His landmark Supreme Court case Korematsu v. United States challenged the legality of the mass removal of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II, and is considered a milestone for modern civil rights.